The immediate past Governor of Benue State, Chief Samuel Ortom on Tuesday fired back at his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia over the governor’s claim that he inherited N359 billion unpaid salaries to workers in the state.
Governor Alia who was addressing supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at Okpoga, the headquarters of Okpokwu Local Government Area during his thank you tour of the state, disclosed that he inherited that whooping amount from the immediate past administration.
The governor also accused Ortom of lying that the Mohammadu Buhari-led administration denied him of funds to pay workers’ salaries and execute other people orientated projects.
But in a swift reaction via his media aide, Mr. Terver Akase, Chief Ortom said that the governor was always “bandying fake figures to discredit him”.
Ortom also tasked his successor to explain to the people how he utilized the
funds from bonds, Stamp Duty, SURE-P and Signature Bonus, among other funds which he said had since been received by the governor.
He said there has been zero accountability since assumption of office of the Alia’s administration, as the people do not know how much is accrued to the state from federation account and the IGR of the state adding that he also “inherited debts in 2015, but went on to pay seven months arrears and also implemented a 27% increase in teachers’ salaries.
“I also implemented N18,000 minimum wage for teachers as well, the same way he later implemented the N30,000 minimum wage for workers despite the fact that Nigeria went into recession on two occasions, not forgetting the COVID-19 pandemic that adversely affected the economy of the country and states”.
He said the impression created by Governor Alia in the inherited figure is an indication that he did not pay salaries for five years (60 months).
The former governor accused Alia administration of contradicting figures citing the state’s debt profile which he noted was initially put at N187.56 billion, adding that the governor and his team are quick to gleefully talk about finances as they affect him, but quickly recoil into silence whenever a question is put to them on how they are managing resources of the state.
Ortom “challenged the state government under Alia to publish the allocations they have received since May 2023 and how the funds are being expended. We equally challenge the Alia government to tell the people what the wage bill of the state is, after the governor claimed that they removed thousands of “ghost workers” from the government’s payroll.
“The Alia administration should also publish what the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR of the state has been since May 2023 to date”.
He implored urged the governor to concentrate on governance in order to fulfill his promises to the people as campaigns are over.
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